J-Students Rewarded, Encouraged to Hone Craft

Dearborn, Mich. — Belief in their future and that of journalism brought about 200 Detroit students, their teachers and family into Ford Motor Company World Headquarters to celebrate academic achievement.

"Being awarded the scholarship will now allow me to attend my first choice school, Michigan State University,” said Kayla Cockrel, Cass Tech High School senior. “The scholarship is an enormous blessing, and I’m grateful for the support from Ford Motor Company and the Detroit Free Press.”

Announcement of the six finalists, after an extensive application process, including a letter of recommendation from a teacher, high school transcripts, ACT or SAT scores, journalistic writing samples and an essay about their future academic and career goals, sets the students to a course, but there is still much work ahead.

"Find a mentor to help guide you through your studies, network with other students and to work towards getting an internship when school is not in session. These three things will help you to set yourself up for success when it's time to graduate," said featured keynote speaker Al Martin, from WKAR Radio and WKAR-TV.